Olympics | Straight Talk

Vancouver police making downtown liquor stores close early tonight

By Stephen Hui, February 26, 2010

After letting downtown liquor stores conduct business as usual the past few days, the Vancouver Police Department is having them close early tonight (February 26).

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The police released the following statement:

In anticipation of large crowds this evening, the Vancouver Police are hoping to curb the open consumption of liquor by people coming into the city to enjoy Olympic festivities.

To help avoid a repeat of last Friday’s incidents of public intoxication and the associated disorder, Vancouver Police have asked the B.C. Liquor Control and Licensing Branch for assistance with a 7:00 p.m. closing time for liquor stores in the downtown area this evening. Police will ensure that the celebration will remain safe by enforcing the liquor laws that prohibit consumption of liquor in a public place.

Vancouver Police, along with members from the Integrated Security Unit, will be working together to manage the capacity crowds again tonight.

Vancouver Police are appreciative of the assistance provided by the B.C. Liquor Control and Licensing Branch and affected businesses in the area, as well as the messaging from the media in recent days in helping to ensure public safety.

Last weekend, the VPD also instructed liquor stores to close their doors at 7 p.m.

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Comments

duncan
Fri, 2010-02-26 12:03
so fucking ridiculous. when did the vpd become vancouver’s tightass parent, taking away candy when the child threatens to act out?

rights are supposed to be retained until a crime is committed; not removed in anticipation of potential trouble.

and while the world watches. embarrassing.
 
Chris Slater
Fri, 2010-02-26 12:04
People will not have learned from last time. They won't have already picked up extra alcohol during the day or stocked up during the past week. They won't be rushing to the liquor store straight after work to lineup. Nope. Now that you're closing things down at 7pm, nobody will be able to find alcohol. Nobody will have "incidents of public intoxication and the associated disorder". All is under control, citizen.

 
Travis Lupick
Fri, 2010-02-26 12:08
Mike Usinger said it: Police try to turn Vancouver into a no-fun Olympic city.
 
Jake Stevens
Fri, 2010-02-26 12:48
Boy, I sure do love being treated like a 12 year old who can't make grown up decisions about how much liquor I can consume and where/when I can consume it. Thanks big brother, good looking out...
 
Graham Williams
Fri, 2010-02-26 12:57
Are they asking or telling? The headline implies that it's a directive while the body copy implies that it's a suggestion. If it's a suggestion I'd tell the VPD to bugger off. If it's a directive I'd complain to city council that the police force is issuing commands that are detrimental to my business. Either way these stores should only close if they want to.
 
PeterL
Fri, 2010-02-26 12:58
Uh...what's stopping people from drinking at bars/pubs/restaurants after 7pm?
 
Mike Usinger
Fri, 2010-02-26 13:41
Uh, the lineups.
 
Travis Lupick
Fri, 2010-02-26 14:02
$20+ cover and $10 beers are sorta holding me back.
 
RodSmelser
Fri, 2010-02-26 15:16
Researchers at the University of Victoria recently completed a survey of 26,000 people. They found that, of those who drank any alcohol at all, 50% of the sales were absorbed by just 10% of the consumers.


If you think about that for a moment, you begin to realize that companies and governments earning income from liquor sales are highly dependent, for up to half their total revenues, on a hard-core minority of problem drinkers.


That's why the liquor business has put up the FunCouver lobby, to justify selling truly huge amounts, 10 to 20 drinks per person/per nite or more, to a self-selected and voluntarily segregated minority of downtown nite time patrons, mostly younger people.

Rod Smelser
 
Mike Moeller
Fri, 2010-02-26 15:50
Let,s face it. We live in a police state and have for quite a while. We don,t get the same rights as the police do when they break the law and when they thinlk the law will be broken they do just about what they want. Remember the airport incident where a innocent man died. Need I say more????
 
Chris R
Fri, 2010-02-26 17:10
So last week some guy in merritt gets off killing his 3 children after he admits his guilt due to reason of insanity yet the taxpayers that are paying for the olympics (probably for the next 30 years) can not purchase a case of beer after 7 pm because they might miss behave .What happen to innocent until proven guilty . I hope I am not the only one that thinks the judicial system is an epic failure.
 
miguel
Sat, 2010-02-27 10:25
Everyone is forgetting how many outdoor events have been ruined and canceled because of irresponsible public drunkenness.
If you live in the region and planned to be responsible then you need to leave the downtown to shop for your beverages. That is one more cost of the event.
The alternative is allow the drinking and have a very heavy-handed police presence in front of the international media, and a bigger debt.
Miguel
 
Sick of the idiots..
Sat, 2010-02-27 11:40
First off, I have no issues with people who want to drink, and I think the liquor store early closures are a ridiculous idea.

Second, if people want to walk around with liquor, by all means do so. Many areas of the world allow public liquor consumption. The seemingly made up rules from VPD are pretty ridiculous.

However, where I do have an issue is with all the drunken revelry. I read an article where the writer referred to Granville Street as 'The Vomit River.' I took off during the first week of the Olympics and did a house swap. When discussing how they enjoyed the stay in Vancouver, my houseguests loved everything... except the drunken idiots, and they said it really put a damper on ever going out at night. The international media is portraying the partying in a terrible light. I want my city to be thought of for all its wonderful charms, not as some place where douchebags go to fight and puke in the streets under the guise of 'patriotism.'
 
 
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